Life boat



Oct. 22, 1935. v A. P. sci-IAT 2,018,579

LIFEBOAT original Filed June 17, 15551 Patented Oct. 22, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics Application June 17, 1931, Serial No. 545,087. Re-

newed August 23, 1935. In Great Britain June 12 Claims.

It has been proposed to provide a life boat with skate-like members adapted to be clamped to and detached from the boat, said members having for their duty to guide the boat during launching over the ships side and to reduce the contact surface between the ships hull and the boat to the smallest possible area. Reference is had, inter alia, to my prior British` Patent specifications Nos. 252,014, 255,727, 257,300 and 259,148.

I now suggest constructing a life boat in such a manner that the skate-like members, or substantial portions thereof, form integral parts of the boat. For instance, the boat may be provided with two frame-like outer rims suitably spaced apart and extending athwart from one gunwale to the other. Said rims may be separate members riveted or otherwise secured to the sides of the boat, or they may be formed by suitably bending or fianging the sheets or other elements of which the boat is made. In the latter case the boat may be composed of a tapering front portion, a preferably straight central portion and a tapering rear portion, said portions being provided with outwardly directed flanges by means of which they are assembled through rivets, bolts or any other -suitable fastening means, or, in case of a steel boat, by welding. Packing material may be interposed between said anges.

A boat constructed as indicated can be launched on either side of the vessel.

My novel construction is more especially intended for steel boats, but can also be used in connection with boats made of other material, for instance, so-called vulcan nbre, prepared by saturating a kind of filter paper with zinc chloride, and thereupon washing and drying the product.

I am aware that a life-boat provided with skate-like members forming integral parts thereof may not be as navigable as an ordinary boat, but this is no consideration since in case of a casualty life boats should not move from the spot but await the arrival of Steamers called to rescue by radio.

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing which represents an al1-metal lifeboat constructed in accordance with my invention:

Figure l is a plan View of the boat,

Figure 2 a cross section of the boat at its middle portion,

Figure 3 a section taken on the line A-B in Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The keel I of bulb section is at its ends 2 bent upwards so as to form the stem and stern of the boat. At right angles to the keel and connected thereto, for instance, by riveting, but preferably by Welding, are the skates 3, 5 and S, equally of bulb section and forming with the keel a frame construction, to which the hull plates l, 3, 9, Iii, I I 5 and I2 are secured by means of flanges, preferably welded to the frame members. In order to reduce the resistance of the boat when towed through the water, the spaces on either side of the skates, i. e. between these parts and the lo boats hull are filled up with wooden blocks I3, I4,

I5, I6 of triangular or other suitable cross section. The relatively small strength of a steel boat to withstand crashing against the side of the ship from which it is being launched, may be matel5 rially increased by means of a preferably resilient structure of flat or shaped iron or steel as at I 'I and IB, connecting the skates 3, l and 5, 6 respectively, or riveted, welded or otherwise secured to the inner faces of the boats hull.

For use in connection with a boat construction as described having a boat chock according to my co-pending patent application No. 436,558, I provide a cradle as shown'in Figures 2 and 3, consisting of two plates I9 provided with ilanges 20, to suit the wooden blocks I4 on either side of the skate 4, and interconnected by means of screw bolts and distance pieces 2 I, between which plates are mounted rollers 22, 23 running on the chock or guide way 24, sloping to the outside of the vessel. I

To prevent the boat as well as the cradle from unduly sliding down the chock 24, I connect the cradle by means of a rope 25, provided with a sliphook 26 to the vertical section iron 2l supportfing the inboard side of the chock and connected by means of an angle iron '2B to the ships deck 29. For launching the boat it is only necessary to loosen the slip hook 2S and a corresponding slip hook in the plane of the skates 5 and 6, after #IG which the boat and the cradle are free tc slide down-hill towards the water. The cradle after passing the sheer strake of the vessel falls free from the boat, but may be hauled inside the boat by means of a rope 3E, connecting the cradle and 45 the skate A.

In some instances the skate-like members integral with the boat may form only part of the complete skate. For instance, I may 'rivet to the outside of the boat two angle irons with their upstanding flanges spaced a small distance apart so as to form a groove for receiving the skate proper in the shape of a flat strip having a bulb along its outer edge. Said skate may then be arranged to be detachably connected to the boat 55 in any known or convenient manner. It will be understood that the said angle irons are a means for supporting the skate proper on both sides and for preventing the same from -being displaced sideways under the inuence of impacts that may act thereon. The corners formed between the angle irons and the boats `hull may again be lled up with wooden blocks or the like having a triangular or other suitable cross section.

What I claim is:

1. A life-boat provided with skate-like members for guiding the boat over the side of the vessel from which it is launched, said members forming integral parts of the boat, said boat being provided at its inside with a resilient structure interconnecting theV skate-like members on either side oi the boat.

2. A life-boat comprising a central section and stem and stern sections, and having on either side skate-like members for guiding the boat over the sides of the vessel from which it is to be launched, said members forming integral parts of the boat, and being rigidly connected to the central section thereof, said section being provided at its inside with a yielding structure extending athwartships and interconnecting the skate-like members on either side of the boat.

3. A life-boat comprising a central section and stem and stern sections, and provided with skate-like members for guiding the boat over the side of the vessel from which it is launched, said members forming integral parts of the boat, and rigidly connected to the central section thereof, said boat being provided at its-outside with blocks lling up the corners between the skate-like members and the boats hull.

4. A life-boat comprising a central section and stem and stern sections, and provided with skatelike members for guiding the boat over the side of the vessel from which it is launched, said members forming integral parts of the boat and rigidly connected to the central section thereof, in which boat the keel is made of iron and is integral with the stem and the stern, the skatelike members being secured to the keel to form a frame to which sections of the boats hull are mounted.

5. A life-boat comprising a central section and stem and stern sections, and provided with skate-like members for guiding the boat over the side of the vessel from which it is launched, said members forming integral parts of the boat, and rigidly connected to the central section thereof; a cradle for use in connection with said lifeboat and combined with a boat chock sloping down in outboard direction, said cradle consisting of a pair of plates, screw bolts and distant pieces, said plates being adapted to support the boat on either side of any one of the skate-like members, said plates being interconnected by means of said screw bolts and distance pieces.

6. A life-boat comprising a central section and stem and stern sections, and provided with skatelike members for guiding the boat overthe side of the vessel from which it is launched, said members forming integral parts of the boat, and rigidly connected to the central section thereof; a cradle for use in connection with said lifeboat and combined with a boat chock sloping down in outboard direction, said cradle consisting ci a pair of plates, screw bolts, distance pieces and rollers, said plates being adapted to support the boat on either side of any of the skate-like members, said plates being interconnected by means of said screw bolts and distance pieces, and provided with rollers therebetween.

7. A boat consisting of a, frame and a hull rigidly secured thereto, said frame including opposing transverse members connected at their lower ends to the keel of the boat and curving outwardly and upwardly therefrom to the top of the boat, and having interconnecting braces at their upper ends, said curved members projecting out beyond the hull of the boat and being formed into skates for the boat; whereby said skates are an integral part of the boat.

8. A boat consisting of a frame and a hull rigidly secured thereto, said frame comprising a keel extending fromstem to stern of the boat; opposing transverse members secured at their lower ends to said keel and curved outwardly and upwardly therefrom to the top of the boat; and a transverse brace interposed between the upper ends of said outwardly and upwardly curved members, said curved members projecting outwardly beyond the hull of the boat with their projecting portions formed into skates for the boat; whereby the skates form integral parts of the frame.

9. A lifeboat comprising stem and stern sections and an intermediate section; and skateiike members rigidly connecting said members together and arranged to guide the boat over the sides of the vessel from which it is launched.

10. A lifeboat comprising stem and stern sections and an intermediate section; and skatelike members for guiding the boat over the sides of the vessel from which it is launched, said component parts of the boat being rigidly connected together, and said skates being located at the junctions of said parts.

l1. A boat consisting of a frame having integral longitudinal and transverse members, and a hull rigidly secured thereto, said integral transverse frame members projecting outwardly beyond the hull at both its bottom and sides to form integral portions of the frame for undergirding the hull of the boat while at the same time forming integral skates therefor, said skates having convex working faces disposed in vertical planes at right angles to the longitudinal extent of the boat and of the ship with which the boat is to be used, and designed to ride downwardly on the convex outer side of a listed ship as the boat is lowered from the ships deck to the water.

12. A boat consisting of a frame having integral longitudinal and transverse members, and a hull rigidly secured thereto with said integral transverse frame members projecting outwardly beyond the hull at both its bottom and sides to form integral portions of the frame for undergirding the hull of the boat while at the same time forming integral skates therefor, the bottom of the hull on either side of the longitudinal centre thereof, and the lower portions of the respective skates contacting therewith, being arranged when viewed transversely, to approach a straight line with the parts on the two sides oi said centre extending downwardly-and-inwardly toward each other, each of said parts forming an angle less than a right angle with the vertical plane extending longitudinally through the keel of the boat.

ANE PIETER SCHAT. 

